Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the BBC on the potential impact of changes to the level of funding for BBC World Service on the capacity of the BBC to deliver content in other languages.

The Government is in close touch with the BBC on a range of issues - we have regular discussions at Ministerial, senior and official levels. The BBC is the main funder of the World Service and is editorially and operationally independent. It decides the most effective and efficient way of delivering the World Service. Expanding coverage would primarily be a decision for the BBC, in consultation with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in line with the requirements of the Framework Agreement. World Service Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years will be decided by Ministers through the FCDO allocations process in the autumn.